Selective versus comparative processing

Simonson et al. (forthcoming) propose a new theory of comparison selection that explains which particular alternatives will be considered in a wide variety of judgment and choice tasks. Comparison selection depends on the latitude of acceptance, comparison fluency, and the interaction between these factors. Importantly, these factors integrate a wide variety of seemingly unrelated variables, and the theory is useful for generating novel hypotheses. However, because comparative processing occurs relatively infrequently, it is important to take a step back and specify the conditions under which comparative processing is likely to occur. Comparative processing is likely only when the motivation and the opportunity to process information carefully are high, when consumers lack knowledge about distributional standards, or when stimulus-based judgment is likely. The two types of processes have different antecedents, consequences, and implications for debiasing.     

Conscious knowledge influences decision‐making differently in substance abusers with and without co‐morbid antisocial personality disorder

Decision‐making impairment, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), is a consistent finding among individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). We studied how this impairment is influenced by co‐morbid antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and conscious knowledge of the task. Three groups were investigated: SUD individuals without co‐morbid ASPD (n = 30), SUD individuals with co‐morbid ASPD (n = 16), and healthy controls (n = 17). Both SUD and SUD+ASPD participants had poor overall IGT performance. A block‐by‐block analysis revealed that SUD participants exhibited slow but steady improvement across the IGT, whereas SUD+ASPD participants exhibited initial normal improvement, but dropped off during the last 40 trials. Conscious knowledge of the task was significantly correlated to performance for controls and SUD participants, but not for SUD+ASPD participants. Our findings suggest that decision‐making proceeds differently in SUD and SUD+ASPD individuals due to differences in acquisition and application of conscious knowledge.     

The link between ego-resiliency and changes in Big Five traits after decision making: The case of Extraversion

After performing such solitary decision making tasks as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Game of Dice Task (GDT), we expected that changes will occur in Extraversion trait measured by a short Hungarian Big Five Inventory (BFI). We also hypothesized that ego-resiliency (Block, 2002)—a dimension measuring the ability to adapt to situational demands—will be linked to the magnitude of Extraversion change. After a pre-task measurement of the Big Five traits and ego-resiliency, participants (N = 93) completed the IGT and the GDT tasks. After each task, they filled out the BFI again. Pre- and post-task Big Five trait values showed significant differences. Participants reported lower post task scores on the Extraversion dimension and the magnitude of Extraversion change between pre- and post-task measurements correlated with ego-resiliency. The results highlight some short term effects of contextual factors influencing self-characterizations in BFI dimensions. Especially, individuals with high ego-resiliency give characteristically more introverted self-characterization after solitary tasks. The present results show an example of how the interplay between contextual factors and ego-resiliency can modify self-characterization within a very short period of time.     

Task complexity matters: The influence of trait mindfulness on task and safety performance of nuclear power plant operators

People with high level of trait mindfulness are more likely to maintain an open and present-focused awareness and attention. Whereas a positive link between trait mindfulness and well-being has been established, its influence on real-world performance has not been fully addressed. In Study 1, we validated the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) in a Chinese sample (N = 294) and found that a two-dimensional solution (a presence factor and an acceptance factor) best fit the data. In Study 2, using this validated scale, we directly investigated the influence of trait mindfulness on task and safety performance. In a sample of 136 Chinese nuclear power plant operators, it was found that trait mindfulness interacted with task complexity to influence performance. For high-complexity-task holders (the control room operators), the presence factor was positively related to their task and safety performance; for the low-complexity-task holders (the field operators), the presence factor had no influence on safety performance but a negative influence on task performance. The acceptance factor did not have any meaningful influences. These results suggest that the benefit of being mindful outweighs its cost for complex but not simple tasks. Implications are discussed.     

Dialogue with Elizabeth Seale-Scott,Director, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives,U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

SUMMARY

In an effort to fully understand the role of the office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Drs. Netting and Ellor went to Washington, DC and interviewed the Director, Elizabeth Seale-Scott. This important dialogue is recorded here to further understand particularly the role of this office as it impacts the Administration on Aging and Aging programs.     

Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment Package for Teaching Grooming Skills to a Man with an Intellectual Disability

A combination of health education, use of picture cues based on task analyses, a system of least prompts and social reinforcement was applied to teach various grooming skills to a man with a moderate intellectual disability. A multiple baseline design across behaviours was employed to show the effects. The results indicated rapid learning of lacking skills such as tooth brushing, shaving, showering and washing of arms and face.     

On the Fundamental Worldview of the Integral Culture: Integrating Science,Religion, and Art: Part One

In the present essay the author suggests that the main reason why history failed to develop societies in harmony with Nature, including our internal nature as well, is that we failed to evaluate the exact basis of the factor ultimately governing our thoughts. We failed to realize that it is the worldview that ultimately governs our thoughts and through our thoughts, our actions. In this work we consider the ultimate foundations of philosophy, science, religion, and art, pointing out that they were and can be again in harmony with each other if their ultimate tasks are specified. It is specified here the first task of philosophy as considering the philosophical significance of the ultimate principles of physics, biology and man/society. These ultimate principles are in direct connection with the ultimate questions of religion. It is shown that the fundamental nature of art makes it able to perceive the ultimate destination of mankind and the Universe, the world-to-be. It is proposed that philosophy, religion and art together are able to supply us with an inter-subjective picture of the world-process, including the inter-subjective picture of the future of mankind and the Universe. Care is taken to enlighten the possible role of values in founding scientific research in the frame of present wide-ranging discussions. It is found that universal values of respect for existence, life and reason represent the inevitable basis of science. The exact foundations of a new, integral worldview are outlined, involving the worldprocess-picture, Nature-picture, images of man, society, self, history and manipulation. A list of our common tasks for founding the Integral Culture is proposed.     

The Attention-Lapse and Motor Decoupling accounts of SART performance are not mutually exclusive

There is an ongoing debate about the mechanisms purported to underlie performance in the Sustained-Attention-to-Response Task (SART). Whereas the Attention-Lapse account posits that SART errors result from attentional disengagement, the Motor Decoupling account proposes that SART errors result from failures to inhibit a fast, prepotent motor response, despite adequate attention to the task. That SART performance might be fully accounted for by motor decoupling is problematic for a Attention-Lapse account, and for the use of the SART as an index of attention lapses. To test whether SART performance is in fact fully accounted for by motor decoupling, I examined the relation between SART performance and attention lapses while controlling for motor decoupling. The results were clear: The SART was associated with attention lapses independently of motor decoupling. Thus, the present study suggests that both accounts are correct and that the SART is a valid measure of attention lapses.     

Goal orientation profiles and task performance growth trajectories

Goal orientation theories were used to generate predictions regarding the moderating effect of goal orientation profiles on task performance growth trajectories. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Analyses were conducted using growth curve modeling. As expected, individuals with high performance-approach orientation improved their task performance scores faster than their counterparts. The interaction between mastery and performance-avoid orientations moderated the performance growth curve such that individuals with high mastery and low performance-avoid orientation improved their performance at the fastest rate. The interaction between performance-approach and performance-avoid orientations also moderated the performance growth curve. Individuals with low performance-approach and high performance-avoid orientation improved their performance at the slowest rate. These findings contribute to theory and practice by elucidating how various combinations of goal orientations influence the rate of skill acquisition.

How dynamic is interhemispheric interaction? Effects of task switching on the across-hemisphere advantage

Interaction between the cerebral hemispheres may allow both hemispheres to contribute their processing resources in order to cope efficiently with complex tasks [Banich, M. (1998). The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing. Brain and Cognition, 36, 128-157]. The current study investigated whether the benefits of interhemispheric interaction arise because of top-down knowledge about the task built up over the course of a block of trials or because of the processing demands present in a single trial. Participants performed a less computationally complex physical identity task and a more complex adding task on within-visual field and across-visual field trials. Task differences in interhemispheric interaction were compared between the blocked and mixed conditions to investigate whether frequent task switches altered the pattern of interhemispheric resource recruitment. A similar interaction between task difficulty and trial type (across- or within-visual field presentation) was obtained for both the blocked and mixed conditions. The degree of task-dependency of interhemispheric interaction was not altered in the mixed condition. This finding supports the view that interhemispheric interaction becomes beneficial in response to the processing demands of an individual trial rather than as a result of top-down task knowledge.